Oku no Hosomichi
天地の宿 奥の細道
Does Oku no Hosomichi allow tattoos? In a private bath
The large bath is closed to guests with tattoos. Most rooms have a spring-water bath of their own, and a private gold-spring bath is rented for ¥5,000.
The house rules refuse tattooed guests in the large bath. The ryokan’s way around it is the room: its room types A through D, L and M all have a bath on the gold spring or the ryokan’s own source. The annex also has a private bath, ¥5,000 for 50 minutes, booked at check-in.
The bath
Room types C and D have a gold-spring bath, and types A and B a bath on the ryokan’s own source. The Taiko room in the annex, 140 m², adds a private gold-spring foot bath. The cheapest annex rooms, type S, have no bath.
The private bath has a gold-spring open-air tub and an indoor tub of heated plain water. It is open 3 p.m. to midnight on the day you check in.
The hotel
A ryokan on the slope above the town, with free parking for 30 cars.
Good to know
- Tattoos are refused in the large bath. Use the room bath or the private bath.
- Avoid room type S. It has no bath.
Getting there
Arima-Onsen STN · Kobe Electric Railway
By the ryokan’s car, about 5 minutes.
From Sannomiya in Kobe, take the subway to Tanigami, then the Kobe Electric Railway, changing at Arima-guchi, to Arima-Onsen; it’s about 1 hour from Osaka. Express buses from Sannomiya and Osaka also run to the Arima Onsen bus stop. Call on arrival for the free pickup from the station or a bus stop; the walk is a steep hill.
Where it is
Arima-Onsen STN
- Hankyu Kobe line 30 min
- Kobe Electric Arima line 35 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- Kansai Railway Pass Lite from ¥5,200 · 2 or 3 days Worth it if you’re riding the private lines from Osaka. It covers Kansai’s private railways and subways, including Hankyu from Umeda and the Kobe Electric line to Arima-Onsen. JR trains aren’t covered.
- Himeji Castle, Arima and Mt Rokko day tour Himeji Castle, a stop in Arima Onsen and the view from Mt Rokko, from Osaka.
- Japan Rail Pass from ¥53,000 · 7, 14 or 21 days For a trip that takes in several regions by Shinkansen and JR lines.
What happens when you arrive
Use the bath in your room, or reserve a private bath at the front desk when you check in.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (the ryokan’s house rules and hot-spring page)
11.刺青の方の大浴場の入浴はお断り申し上げます。
This is the rule for the shared baths. It doesn’t apply to the private baths.
Best for: couples who want gold spring in the room and don’t need the shared bath
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